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New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan has issued an indefinite delay in the sentencing of Donald Trump, who was found guilty in a criminal trial and convicted on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, in the so-called "hush money" case. In response, incoming Trump White House communications director Steven Cheung issued a statement whitewashing Trump's record.

Trump's attorneys have asked for the case to be dismissed, or for the judge to overturn the verdict, ABC News reports, adding: "If Judge Merchan tosses the conviction, he could order a new trial -- which would be delayed for at least four years until Trump leaves office -- or dismiss the indictment altogether."

In that same order, Judge Merchan also allowed Trump's legal team to submit a motion to dismiss, as Law.com reports.

Merchan did not schedule a new sentencing date.

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Professor of Law and former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance observed: "Sad day for the rule of law."

"Understand that the Judge hasn't ruled yet & the DA maintains the conviction is proper. But the delay in sentencing is just another chink in the armor of justice," she noted.

U.S. Senator-elect Adam Schiff (D-CA), posting the judge's order, remarked, "If anyone ever wanted to see what “justice delayed is justice denied” looks like in legal form, this is it."

Meanwhile, Trump communications director Steven Cheung made several controversial claims in a statement reported by The Guardian's Hugo Lowell: "In a decisive win for President Trump, the hoax Manhattan Case is now fully stayed and sentencing is adjourned. President Trump won a landslide victory as the American People have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the Witch Hunt cases. All of the sham lawfare attacks against President Trump are now destroyed and we are focused on Making America Great Again."

The case was not a "hoax." A grand jury indicted Trump and a New York jury convicted him on all counts.

Sentencing is not "adjourned," but delayed.

Trump did not win in a "landslide victory," nor does he have a "mandate," political pundits and experts say.

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Earlier this week MSNBC's Chris Hayes wrote, "The final 2024 election tally is almost in. It should end the MAGA mandate myth."

Trump won less than 50% of the popular vote, meaning he did not win a majority. His popular vote margin, according to Cook Political Report's vote tracker, is now at a slim 1.62 percentage points, or just less than 2.5 million votes. Some states are still counting, including California which has over 350,000 ballots left to count.

Four days ago, CNN's Harry Enten reported Trump's popular vote victory ranks him near the bottom: 44th out of 51.

The legal cases are not all destroyed. The Georgia case has not been dismissed. The New York case that Cheung mentions is not finished. Even the classified documents case that was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is being appealed, at least for now.

READ MORE: Byron Donalds ‘Not Surprised’ at Snub from Trump’s Nearly-All White Administration

Betting markets are less confident that Donald Trump will get all of his Cabinet nominees confirmed after Matt Gaetz dropped out of the running for attorney general.

The Florida Republican withdrew from consideration after Republican senators spoke out against his nomination over sex trafficking allegations, and CNN's Harry Enten said the betting markets have reduced the odds that Pete Hegseth and other Trump nominee's will make it through Senate confirmation.

"Based upon that sexual assault allegation, look at this, the chance that [Hegseth] gets confirmed as defense secretary a week ago, we were looking at an 82 percent chance, according to the betting markets," Enten said. "Now we're down to just a 54 percent chance, so those odds have dropped dramatically. Now this is still a little bit north of 50 percent, but we're basically looking at a 50-50 proposition here. Of course, Matt Gaetz, before he actually stepped back, his chances were well south of 50 percent, so Hegseth is doing better than Gaetz was, but far worse than he was doing just a week ago."

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Hegseth has the worst odds at 54 percent, but Enten said two other Trump nominees – Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – also face unfavorable odds.

"Gabbard and RFK Jr. are not shoo-ins by any stretch of the imagination, so national intel director, national intelligence director, look at this – Gabbard is at 70 percent, so there's a 30 percent chance that this could go the other way," Enten said. "Many of the more secure nominations, like [Elise] Stefanik to be UN ambassador, that's well up into the 90s. How about RFK Jr.? He's standing at 73 percent, which again, is well above 50 percent, but well south of a sure thing."

"Have RFK Jr.'s odds gone down?" he added. "In fact, they have. I was looking at them. They were close to about 90 percent when his name was first getting floated. So as some of the more controversial stances of RFK, whether they be as many in the big names in the medical community are speaking out against it, and, correct, as many of the big names in the medical community have been speaking out against him, his odds have definitely been falling. Again, still north of 50 percent, but this is far from a surprise if one of these end up going adios amigos! Both of them being confirmed most likely, but at this particular point, at least one of them not getting confirmed, there's a pretty decent chance of that."

Watch below or click here.

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Just two weeks and two days before Election Day, the Trump campaign website blared, "Trump Campaign to Host Black Men’s Barbershop Talk Roundtable Event in Philadelphia, PA with Congressman Byron Donalds."

The program promised to "focus on the challenges facing Black men today, including economic struggles, community safety, and the negative impact of Kamala Harris’ policies on the Black community."

"Attendees will discuss how Trump’s policies delivered real results for Black Americans, and how he plans to continue building on that success when he returns to office. This event offers an opportunity for Black men to share their experiences and hear directly from leaders committed to creating positive change."

That was just one of numerous events featuring the outspoken Florida Republican U.S. Congressman, who has stridently supported and devoutly defended Donald Trump, traveling across the country, speaking in support of the former president and now-future president on the campaign trail, at rallies, in interviews, and on social media.

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Exactly one week before Election Day, the Trump campaign website promoted another event with Donalds: "Team Trump on Tour in Atlanta, Georgia Featuring Rep. Byron Donalds," announcing the Florida congressman would "deliver remarks at a Team Trump on Tour event" on October 31.

There were numerous other Trump rallies and events advertising Congressman Donalds as a key speaker, especially in the final days of the campaign in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania: "Team Trump Announces Bus Tour Across Pennsylvania."

Donalds was advertised to speak at events in Pennsylvania's Monroeville, Hazle Township, Lansdale, Downington, New Castle, and others.

It wasn't just Pennsylvania, and it wasn't just in the final push to reach 270.

"Team Trump to Hold an Agenda 47 Policy Tour in Bermuda Run, North Carolina Featuring Representative Byron Donalds, Representative Dan Bishop, and Kash Patel, Former Chief of Staff for the Department of Defense," read one announcement back in September, for an event in North Carolina.

Then there was the announcement for Trump's now-infamous rally at Madison Square Garden.

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The published speaker lineup reads almost like a who's who of Trump's new Cabinet and top advisor picks. Congressman Donalds' name is fourth on the list, just below Trump's incoming Vice President JD Vance, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Trump's nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations, Elise Stefanik.

Congressman Donalds has been a devoted, top Trump surrogate, but now he says he is "not surprised" he has not been asked to join the incoming Trump administration, not at any level.

"Are you not surprised that you have not been named? Have you had a conversation about being a part of the administration at all?" Donalds was asked Wednesday on CNN, in an interview (video below) discussing criticism of Trump for having picked not a single Black American for his Cabinet. It also appears Trump has not named any Black person to any top administration position.

Others, too, have noticed the incoming Trump administration currently has no Black Americans listed for any top roles.

US population vs Trump nominees
As percent of US population: •White men: 30% •Women: 51% •People of color: 40% •Black: 12% Trump's nominees so far: •White men: 68% •Women: 20% •People of color: 16% •Black: 0% •Men credibly accused of sexual assault: 12% Meritocrisy! pic.twitter.com/V0jlYt3oyE — Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) November 17, 2024

"All I will say I am not surprised that I have not been named, but that does not mean I'm not gonna do other things in the future," Donalds said, appearing reserved and tight-lipped.

"Have you, has he asked you?"

"Uh, no," Donalds replied, "there's some other things that I'm looking at going forward. I'm not gonna talk about them now."

"We'll see what happens," is all Donalds would share.

The Florida Republican is still defending Trump.

"What we, what Donald Trump's election is about is bringing competency and reality back to D.C. in the White House, making sure that the job gets done on behalf of the American people," he also said on CNN, "regardless of their race, regardless of their religion, regardless of their creed."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Donalds: All I will say is, I am not surprised that I have not been named, but that does not mean I'm not going to do other things in the future.
Coates: Has they asked you? Donalds: No, there are some other things that I’m looking at pic.twitter.com/Bl3LXGRbG3 — Acyn (@Acyn) November 21, 2024

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During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Symone Sanders Townsend joined in to talk about the chaos surrounding Rep. Matt Gaetz's nomination to be Donald Trump's next attorney general and the cloud being cast over it by a reportedly "damaging" House Ethics Committee report.

With the Florida Republican meeting with GOP senators this week and attempting to downplay accusations he engaged in drug and sex parties with underaged women reportedly alleged in the report, Sanders Townsend wondered aloud why the wife of Gaetz has not come forward to defend her husband.

She also singled out Fox News personality Pete Hegseth who is having to deal with a police report that details an alleged sexual assault in 2017 as he works toward becoming Trump's next Defense Department secretary.

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With host Joe Scarborough stating he didn't think Gaetz wouldn't be confirmed regardless of the sex party accusations, Symone Sanders offered, "I don't want to sound like people are saying, 'Oh, well, you don't think the sexual assault allegations and the rape allegations as it relates to Pete Hegseth are serious and the paying underaged women for sex is serious.' I think it is very serious frankly."

"And does Matt Gaetz have a wife? Does Pete Hegseth have a wife?" she asked. "I want to hear from the wives, honey, and what the hell is going on up in the House? That is another story entirely."

She later added, "Matt Gaetz's basic qualification for the attorney general is that he was a lawyer for a hot second? I mean, he lost his bar license in Florida, frankly, over the last year and a half, and had to have it reinstated because he didn't pay his dues. This is about the basic qualifications and these other things, these salacious details, are cherries on top, like I said, of a very nasty, already unqualified cake."

Watch below or at the link.

- YouTube youtu.be

Donald Trump will re-enter the White House in two months with a Republican trifecta, which could set the stage to weaken or repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The former president is a longtime opponent of Barack Obama's signature achievement, and some high-ranking Republicans have made clear they would like to roll back the law's Medicaid expansion, raise the uninsured rate, undo patient protections and increase premium costs, reported NPR.

"The Republican plans — they don't say they are going to repeal the ACA, but their collection of policies could amount to the same thing or worse," said Sarah Lueck, vice president for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "It could happen through legislation and regulation. We're on alert for anything and everything. It could take many forms."

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GOP lawmakers weren't able to repeal Obamacare during Trump's first year as president in 2017, despite having majorities in both the House and Senate, and the president-elect and his Republican allies have not made clear what changes they would make to the law's popular protections.

"Trump will do whatever he thinks he can get away with," said Chris Edelson, an assistant professor of government at American University. "If he wants to do something, he'll just do it."

Subsidies that reduce premium costs are set to expire at the end of next year unless lawmakers extend them, and Trump could make some changes to ACA protections through executive orders from his first day in office.

"The early executive orders will give us a sense of policies that the administration plans to pursue," said Allison Orris, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Early signaling through executive orders will send a message about what guidance, regulations and policy could follow."

Weakening ACA's protections could cause costs to explode for many Americans covered under the law.

"It's definitely a terrifying thought," said Dylan Reed, a 43-year-old Colorado man who suffers from the autoimmune disease scleroderma. "I would probably survive. I would just be in a lot of pain."

A cornerstone of President-elect Donald Trump's second-term agenda is the mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants. And his recent call to use emergency powers to deploy the U.S. military on U.S. soil is now being publicly slammed by a top Senate Republican.

Earlier this week, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he would make a national emergency declaration that would allow for the military to be called up to assist his administration with mass deportations. And his nominations of immigration hard-liners like South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem for Homeland Security Secretary and his former Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Tom Homan as border czar signal that his Cabinet would be taking an especially radical approach to undocumented immigrants.

But on Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on the far-right network Newsmax that he would not be in favor of Trump deputizing the military to serve as his deportation force. He maintained that the people carrying out Trump's deportations need to be part of a "police enforcement domestic agency," rather than U.S. military personnel.

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"I'm not in favor of sending the army in uniforms, into our cities, to collect people. I think it’s a terrible image and that’s not what we use our military for,” he said.

“We never have. And it's actually been illegal for over 100 years to bring the Army into our cities. [The] Army and our military are trained to shoot the enemy. They're not trained to get a warrant to do what they're doing ... I'm all for remain in Mexico. I will not support an emergency to put the Army into our cities, I think that's a huge mistake."

Paul is likely referring to the Posse Comitatus Act, which was passed in the 19th century to prevent federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement affairs. As the Brennan Center for Justice explains, the lone exception to the Posse Comitatus Act is the Insurrection Act, which a president can invoke with or without the consent of a state government to suppress a rebellion.

The idea for using the military to assist with mass deportations originally came from Russ Vought, who is the founder of the Center for Renewing America (one of the partner organizations supporting the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025). According to a Washington Post profile of Vought published earlier this year, he proposed characterizing the influx of undocumented immigrants as a foreign "invasion" that would require deploying the military as a means of fighting back, claiming wartime powers.

"We showed that millions of illegal aliens coming across, and Mexican cartels holding operational control of the border, constitute an invasion,” Vought wrote in a September 2022 essay.

“This is where we need to be radical in discarding or rethinking the legal paradigms that have confined our ability to return to the original Constitution.”

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However, Sen. Paul's public objection to the idea means that Trump could face significant resistance in Congress not just from Democrats, but also from Republicans. And there's a possibility that the plan could also be ruled unconstitutional by the federal judiciary if human rights groups fight it in court.